


bruised knuckles does nothing for you

by toflowerknights



Series: the Skybox series [4]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, ladies being friends is my one weakness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-07-22
Packaged: 2018-02-09 23:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2002167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toflowerknights/pseuds/toflowerknights





	bruised knuckles does nothing for you

They stuck her with a girl who is perched on the top bunk and watches Monroe with a distasteful look on her face. She tells her loudly that if she touches her stuff she'd be sorry. Monroe clenches her fists and throws her hoodie on the lower bunk. So much for camaraderie amongst themselves. She soon learns that the girls name is Roma and that she has the whole skybox wrapped around her finger. Or whatever you would like to call it. Monroe gets out of the cell the minute the doors open and gets as far away from Roma as possible. She finds a kid named Miles and chats with him for a while, but he's so boring that she finds himself thinking about scratching her eyes out to make it more fun. She doesn't talk to him again.

Roma stumbles in after lockup more than five times in the first week Monroe's there and her mouth is cherry red and eyes blank. The guard accompanying her always leers at her and slides a rough hand down the length of her body. Roma doesn't say a word when she climbs up into bed. Monroe swallows distaste in her mouth and goes back to sleep.

It took them a week to say anything other than ' _move_ ' and ' _shut up_ ' to each other in the morning. In that time Monroe learned that Roma could sleep through any alarm, ever. She also had an endless supply of hairbrushes, hairbands, t-shirts and underwear. Monroe would feel jealous, if she didn't know how she got them. She also knew that Roma had been there for a year already and that she missed her mother. Monroe didn't like the fact that she started to become human in her eyes. It made it harder not to care.

"What station were you from?" Roma asked one day and Monroe looked up at her in surprise. That was the first time Roma had come close to start a conversation with her. "Um, sixteen," she said uncertainly and Roma's eyes widened in surprise.

"No way," she said and there was a smile playing at her face. "Me too."

And somehow that was all it took. They walked around in the skybox during their free time and talked about where they grew up. It turned out they had almost been neighbours, but they had been far enough apart that they never crossed paths. Both their father's were dead and their mothers had withered away with grief. It had been up to Roma to take care of both of them. Monroe had chosen to look after herself rather than someone who had let her starve. When she admitted that she felt a twinge of regret for the first time. 

Her hands still hurt. But that probably is the price for beating up someone twice her size. And borderline stupidity when you did it again. Monroe suspects that the fact that they were guards didn't help her case when she stood bleeding in front of the council.

-

Monroe got her visitation rights revoked after she punched a boy in the throat. She had seen his hand grab ahold of Roma's arm in a vicious grip and she heard the suggestive comment whispered in Roma's ear. Roma had tried to shake him off, but his grip wouldn't budge. In a flash he was up against the wall, hands around his throat while he was trying to catch his breath. A second later there was a sickening crunch and he gave out a shout of pain while sinking to the floor. Blood was pouring from his nose and Monroe was standing above him, eyes vicious and hands red.

She was placed in solitary for all of ten minutes before a guard came and let her out. When she got back to her old cell Roma was waiting with a small smile. "What did you do?" Monroe asked, half in horror, half in suspicion, as Roma motioned for her to come over.

"Nothing I haven't done before," she said and waved away the question as if it didn't mean anything. Monroe wondered how many times she could do that before it became true. She walked up to Roma, who linked their arms together and walked the short distance to their bunks. "Sit down," she demanded and with a frown Monroe did as she was told. She gave out a hiss of pain one moment later as Roma tried to run a brush through her hair.

"What the fuck?" she snapped and Roma grabbed her arms to keep her from moving.

"If you're going to go around punching people, you need to at least see where you're aiming," she said determinately. "Besides, your face is too pretty to be hiding behind all that hair." It took forty minutes and a whole lot of complaining on Monroe's part before it was done. Roma fished out a mirror from her everlasting supply of everything girly and handed it to Monroe.

"Alright," Monroe agreed with a pained grimace, "It looks pretty good."

-

She poked at her bruised knuckles one day and saw Roma in the corner of her eye. She looked like she swallowed something sour and brushed her long, brown hair in long, sweeping motions. "How did you get stuck in here?" she asked curiously.

"I punched a guard for placing his hands where they shouldn't be," Monroe replied honestly, because she knew Roma would find out with or without her help eventually. She was actually surprised that she hadn't asked earlier. "And another one that tried to help the first."

"Why?" Roma asked. There was nothing judging in her voice, only interest. "They could get you everything you wanted, you know. It's so much easier if you have them on your side."

Monroe bit her lip and took a deep breath before turning around and facing Roma head on. "I'm not like you," she said evenly, "I can't just fuck whomever I want just to get ahead. Besides, they're not really my taste. Too male!" Roma looked understanding and nodded thoughtfully as she worked the brush through her hair. She bit her bottom lip as if she contemplated what she was going to say next. 

"I got thrown in here cause I slept with two council members, and a lot of guards, to get more rations. More stuff," she said quietly and her jaw was set, "I suppose I don't need it, really, but it's nice to own things. I... I know I'm pretty and I thought it would be stupid not to use it to my advantage..." She trailed off and looked at Monroe. She must've seen something on Monroe's face because her defiant gaze turned teasing immediately. "I'm not expecting you to understand, but they voted if I should have been floated immediately no matter if I was under eighteen. Council members Kane and Marks hadn't spoke in my favour."

"Marks?" Monroe interrupted in surprise. "She vouched for you?" Roma shrugged her shoulders and twirled a lock of hair between her fingers."I don't discriminate when I see that I can get something I want!" Roma said with a wide smirk. "You shouldn't either."

"I still don't understand how you can enjoy sex with all-"

"It has nothing to do about sex and everything to do about power," Roma snapped and Monroe was stunned at the fact that she could get angry. She ducked her head and mumbled out an apology. Roma relaxed immediately and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry," she said. "I... I know what people say about me, I'm not stupid. I just don't want you to think-" Her mouth snapped shut as there was a beep from the door. A guard named Philips opened and looked straight at Roma. Without a word she got off her bed and without looking back she walked out of the cell. 

-

Sha came back later than usual. Her hair was wet and hung like curtains in front of her face. She tiptoed over to Monroe and crawled into her bed and under the covers. Monroe hissed quietly as Roma's cold feet touched her legs and she instinctively wrapped and arm around Roma's shoulders to pull her close. Her hair left wet trails across her face and neck. The cold water made a stark contrast to Roma's warm breath on her cheek and Monroe shivered slightly.

"You took your sweet time," she said and tried to keep her tone light. "I thought you'd be back hours ago."

"The guards called in some favours I owed them," Roma replied and snuggled close. She was shaking, from the cold or something else Monroe didn't know, and pulled the covers tighter around them. "But we're all good now." Monroe wanted to push, wanted to make her talk to her, but knew there was no use. Roma was like a brick wall when she wanted to be.

They laid there in silence for a couple of minutes and Monroe felt Roma's heart pound wildly against her chest. Roma hid her face in the crook of her neck and her lips pressed against the hollow of Monroe's throat. She buried herself there, as if it was the only place she could feel safe, and Monroe couldn't do anything but let her. She doubted she would have pushed her away if she had the choice. Her hair fell down in front of her face and Roma shifted so that it covered the better part of hers. "I could love you, you know," Roma whispered against her hair and if Monroe didn't know better she would've thought she was crying. "If I was capable of that."

Monroe was struck by something ugly in that lodged itself in her throat. She swallowed the bile and realised that she hadn't seen Roma treasure a new possession for weeks. She wondered what she traded herself for now. Then she decided she didn't want to know. "You love me more than enough."

"Never leave me," Roma said and pressed closer. "You're my best friend. I couldn't stand to be alone again."


End file.
